Woman dies in SLO house fire

January 19, 2012

A San Luis Obispo woman has died in a Wednesday evening fire at her home on Al Hill Street.

Firefighters arrived about 7 p.m. to find flames and heavy smoke billowing from the house. Neighbors told firefighters they suspected an elderly woman was still in the home.

Fire personnel entered the burning single-family home with hose lines, battling the fire while searching for the reported victim. They found the resident, carried her outside, and initiated emergency life support with CPR.

An ambulance transported the woman to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, where she succumbed to her injuries.

Dispatchers sent 22 San Luis Obispo firefighters, approximately 20 firefighters from Cal Fire/SLO County, San Luis Ambulance personnel and SLO Police department personnel to help battle the fire and secure the scene.

The home was heavily damaged by smoke and fire with an estimated loss of $200,000. No other structures were damaged. Fire investigators have determined that the cause of the fire was accidental, the result of an unattended stove in the kitchen.

The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of her family.

7 Comments

This story raised so many questions for me that I decided to get some more information from the San Luis Obispo Fire Dept. and was referred to the Chief Fire Marshall Roger Maggio. Although the fire is still under investigation, Mr. Maggio observed that the fire appeared to be the result of an unattended electric stove.

It is possible that the stove heated up to a degree that caused nearby combustible materials to ignite. Even a wall can ignite if the stove is too close to the surface for cooler air to circulate, he said.

Speaking in general, he advised that the department can recommend certain brands of space heaters if people need to heat a particular area of their home. (The stove should never be used to heat the home, he added.) Space heaters should be kept at least three feet away from the wall.

Another fire department employee at the North Chorro Fire Station No. 2 said his own stove’s flexible gas line is long enough for him to pull the stove away from the wall so he can clean behind it, with better access to the gas shut off valve. The shut off valve is located at the point where the gas pipe meets the flexible part of the line.

Further information on keeping your home safe during the winter months can be obtained by calling the Dept.’s fire administration number at 781-7380, or visiting their Web site at http://www.slocity.org/fire/outreach.asp

If I wrote that a woman saved a little boy from getting hit by a car I would get thumbs down. That’s why I don’t rate others and I don’t pay attention to the those ratings at all.

BTW, KSBY said that this poor woman was a hoarder and that there wasn’t any working smoke detectors. Perhaps the hoarding played a part in the fire being so bad. Apparently it was a pretty intense fire.

This is so sad, my condolences go out to any friends or family members that might be reading this.

I noticed that many posting here such as yourself speak their mind, there is no BS about any of you (your all simular in that) whether someone thumbs up or down, and it is not uncommon that the posts sometimes get into heated (unlike or not simular among you) diversities or differences despite the concerns for thumbs up or down.
This is what I like most along with CCN investigative reporting. As Mckaney once posted “and we love it”
I don’t always share your view point (wish I could more often but I don’t) but do I LOVE YOUR HONESTY.

Typo
Let me also (and no more because I I am off topic) add that since I was young I had been admonished that people will get in trouble for being honest, however I think it is wonderful you can be who you are and honest about where your at.
So I don’t mine you insulting me and pissing me off if you chose to do so, on some past occassions I deserved it (honestly).